A Hairy Situation

It's common in Chinese culture for many people to get a new haircut or style during the big Chinese holiday called Spring Festival. At the end of January Adam and I went to a holiday luncheon with the other teachers in our grade to celebrate Spring Festival. I asked LuTingNao or Jessica, and XiaoFang - Sophia, what they were doing after lunch, and they said they were going to go get their hair cut, colored, and permed. Then they asked if I wanted to go too. I'd actually been thinking about getting my hair permed for about two years now, so I decided to seize the moment and said I'd go.

I've never had my hair even trimmed here in China. I would always wait until I got back to Michigan where Adam's sister Sara could cut my hair. But this time I decided to just go for it. I was at the salon for about 5 hours. I first got my hair washed, then I was escorted upstairs to the all glass VIP room where the top stylist trimmed my hair. Then I was taken to the area where they do perms and coloring. In the salons here in China, it's the best stylists who do the cuts. Then the jobs of washing, perming, and coloring are done by younger, not so experienced stylists.

Thankfully, Jessica and I got to sit by each other while we got our hair permed so it helped pass the time. Also, one of Adam's students Lollipop texted me and wanted to know what I was up to, so he came by, brought us all coffee, and hung out as well. (Yes, Lollipop is a boy!) In the end I was very happy with the outcome. I'll try to post a photo below.

While getting my hair done, I realized it would be a good idea to get Sophia's hair cut, and I specifically wanted to have her get bangs. I thought it would be good for her with going to preschool to help keep her hair out of her eyes. The Chinese girls get big chunky bangs, so that's what we went for with Sophia. Here's the photo. She's with the girl who cut her hair.

Last it was Adam's turn to get his hair cut. Lollipop went with him and took him to a new salon where he knew the manager. Thanks to that connection, they gave Adam 50% off on the price. His haircut was just 25 Yuan which is about 4 USD. In China they call Adam's hair style the "Beckham" style after the famous soccer player. After Adam's cut was all done and styled, Lollipop then told him that Adam's hairstyle was what the "naughty" boys in China get. Oops! Well, Adam just got another haircut and this time it was more tame, but for a time, this one was fun. See photo below.